Big poker news this week is that the Prima Poker Network is pumping
an impressive one million dollars into Prima Poker Tour 2004 that
will empower and pay for network players to 14 poker festivals in
7 countries, making this the largest global tour in poker history.
Claimed to be the largest terrestrial sponsorship in the history of
poker, Prima is again backing the world famous Hendon Mob on their
second global escapade. The Mob will challenge the world's best poker
players as they compete in 14 of the most prestigious poker festivals
across 7 countries over the next 12 months.
PrimaPoker.com is continuing the biggest ever sponsorship after The
Mob outperformed all expectations in the inaugural Prima Poker Tour
in 2003, with 49 money finishes, 11 tournament trophies, and around
US $500,000 in total prize money.
"The partnership with The Hendon Mob has been extremely
good not just for PrimaPoker.com, but for the sport as a whole. The
synergy between online and offline poker has given the sport more
exposure than ever before, bringing new audiences into play both online
and in the terrestrial card rooms", said a Prima spokesperson
in announcing the 2004 deal with the UK-based professionals.
Prima Poker Tour 2004 will take The Hendon Mob to Las Vegas, Paris,
Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Barcelona, Vienna, Dublin and London. The
Tour will include the World Series of Poker, where it is odds-on that
at least one of the four members of The Hendon Mob wins a WSOP bracelet.
The prize money for the World Series of Poker's main event tops $10,000,000.
"We are delighted that PrimaPoker.com are continuing to
put their faith in us and we intend to continue as we started last
year; breaking records and making friends all over the planet. PrimaPoker.com
are set to be the biggest poker network in the world and we aim to
be the biggest winners on the tournament circuit", said
Barny Boatman of The Hendon Mob.
Joining The Hendon Mob on the Prima Poker Tour will be some of the
best online players on the network. Satellites will be run on the
PrimaPoker.com network for many of the tournaments, with the winning
players sponsored and joining The Mob at the exclusive festivals around
the world.